Alfa Romeo’s driver line-up for 2020 is now finalised, as Antonio Giovinazzi has been confirmed alongside Kimi Raikkonen for another year.
As expected, Alfa Romeo Racing has retained Antonio Giovinazzi for the 2020 season with the young Italian set to continue racing alongside Kimi Raikkonen.
It’s not a particularly surprising announcement, following recent comments from Alfa team boss Frederic Vasseur praising Giovinazzi’s progress in the second half of the season.
But Alfa Romeo have now closed the door on that possibility by confirming Giovinazzi for a second season at the team, meaning Nico Hulkenberg is very likely to be out of a seat next year. While Red Bull and Toro Rosso are yet to confirm their line-ups, there’s no particular shocks expected there. Williams are yet to confirm their second seat, but Canadian Formula 2 racer Nicholas Latifi is the far more likely candidate for that position.
“Antonio has done really well this year,” said Vasseur. “I am extremely pleased to be able to confirm he will stay with Alfa Romeo Racing for 2020.
“The way he has integrated into the team and has consistently improved throughout his first full season in the sport are very promising and we cannot wait to unlock his full potential as we continue to work together.
“Antonio has emerged as a very quick driver, even alongside as tough a benchmark as Kimi [Raikkonen], and we expect him to develop even further as his experience grows.
“His technical feedback, work ethics and positive approach will help us continue to push our team forward, and so will the consistency of an unchanged line-up for next season.”